Big Honor for Claiborne

The honors keep piling up for USC linebacker Chris Claiborne, who was named the Pacific 10 defensive player of the year Monday and has been chosen the national defensive player of the year by the Football News.

Claiborne, a junior, also is a finalist for the Butkus Award, and would become the first USC player to be recognized as the nation’s best college linebacker if he wins the award Dec. 11 in Orlando.

He leads USC with 107 tackles and is the Pac-10 co-leader in interceptions with six, including two returned for touchdowns. He also has five sacks and has broken up 16 passes.

Claiborne led a group of four players named first-team all-conference from USC’s highly regarded defense. The others are safety Rashard Cook, tackle Ennis Davis and cornerback Daylon McCutcheon.

Offensive guard Travis Claridge also was named first-team all-conference.

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Former USC coach John Robinson remains involved in talks with Nevada Las Vegas about its coaching job.

“My guess is after our next conversation, maybe by the weekend, we’ll have decided if we can work out something and it could become more serious,” Robinson said.